In the forests of the Sierra Nevada, the black-backed woodpecker is without parallel. The bird appears almost born of fire, thriving on the flames that flicker through California’s coniferous forests ...

As the global avian extinction crisis accelerates, the loss of large-bodied birds is destroying local biodiversity and ecology, and eroding the cultural memory of Indigenous Peoples.

Long-term research in California shows that many bird populations increase after wildfires and can remain more abundant in burned areas for decades, especially following moderate fires. Although some ...